Childhood in the path of typhoons

By Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Updated 2003 GMT (0403 HKT) November 13, 2013

Photos: Typhoon Haiyan146 photos

Photos: Typhoon Haiyan – A man reconstructs his house in the bay of Tacloban, Leyte province, Philippines, on Wednesday, November 27, 2013. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms on record, hit the country's eastern seaboard on November 8, leaving a wide swath of destruction, including more than 5,000 deaths.

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Photos: Typhoon Haiyan – A man rests on his damaged house along the shore in Tacloban on Monday, November 25.

Typhoon Haiyan – Local people begin to help clear debris near the shoreline where several tankers ran aground on November 23 in Leyte. The death toll from the storm stands at more than 5,000, according to a government-run news agency.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A man clears debris from in front of his home near the shoreline on November 23 in Leyte.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Groups of men clear debris near the shoreline on November 23 in Tacloban.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Survivors of Typhoon Haiyan inspect the damage to their houses in Tacloban, Philippines, on Friday, November 22.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Filpinos clear rubble from a hard-hit area in Tacloban on November 22.

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Typhoon Haiyan – An airplane lands in Tacloban as Antonio Lacasa rebuilds his house on Thursday, November 21.

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Typhoon Haiyan – People carry a coffin through an opening in the wall of a public cemetery for burial in Tacloban on November 21.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A member of the Philippine air force drops relief goods for survivors in Tolosa on November 21.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Children blow bubbles in a destroyed market in Tacloban on Wednesday, November 20.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Workers clear mud and debris in Tacloban on November 20.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A boy climbs across debris in Tacloban on November 20.

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Typhoon Haiyan – People at the airport in Tacloban react to a blast of wind from an aircraft on November 20.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A man walks through water in the typhoon-ravaged city of Tacloban, Philippines, on November 20.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A man sleeps on Tuesday, November 19, on a tanker that ran aground during Typhoon Haiyan in Tacloban.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Firemen unload bodies November 19 for forensic experts to register and bury in a mass grave outside of Tacloban.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Firemen unload more victims outside of Tacloban on November 19.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A man fans the flames of a fire in Tanauan, Philippines, on November 19.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Survivors salvage wood next to stranded ships in Tacloban on November 19.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Philippine military personnel carry an injured survivor to an evacuation flight at the Tacloban airport November 19.

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Typhoon Haiyan – People in Tacloban march in the rain November 19 during a procession calling for courage and resilience among survivors.

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Typhoon Haiyan – People play cards by candlelight Monday, November 18, in Tacloban.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A U.S. Navy helicopter delivers relief goods to typhoon victims in Ormoc, Philippines, on November 18.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Men take food back to their families in Leyte on November 18. Countries all over the world have pledged relief aid to those affected by the typhoon, but damage to airports and roads have made moving the aid very difficult.

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Typhoon Haiyan – People are held back as the U.S. Navy delivers aid from a helicopter in San Jose, Philippines, on November 18.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A helicopter flies over a call for help in Ormoc on November 18.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A man cleans up mud inside a church in the hard-hit city of Tacloban on November 18.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A boy bathes November 18 at a Tacloban school turned into a temporary shelter.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Hundreds of typhoon survivors are packed into a U.S. military airplane November 18 for evacuation from Tacloban's airport.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Typhoon survivors run toward a passing U.S. Navy helicopter in San Jose on November 18.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A boy holding a toy machine gun sits Sunday, November 17, on a ship that ran aground in Tacloban.

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Typhoon Haiyan – People gather around a helicopter as it delivers relief supplies November 17 in Guiuan, Philippines.

Typhoon Haiyan – Survivors clean mannequins found among the debris in Tacloban on November 17.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A man leans against a statue of the Crucifixion before a Mass at Santo Nino Church in Tacloban on November 17.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A man carries a piece of wood from the debris in Tacloban on November 17.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Survivors wait in line in Tacloban for relief goods on November 17.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A man looks over the devastation from his damaged home in Tacloban on November 17.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A trapped resident braves the dust created by a U.S. Navy helicopter taking off Saturday, November 16, on Manicani Island, Philippines.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Corpses are collected and loaded on trucks to be taken to mass graves in Tacloban on November 16.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A victim's corpse floats on a river in Tanauan on November 16.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A pregnant survivor waits to give birth in a hospital November 16 in Tanauan.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A dead dog lies in front of a house destroyed by the typhoon in Tanauan.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A man carries a bicycle as he walks through the ruins of a Tacloban building November 16.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Survivors of the typhoon stand in a Tanauan street partially blocked by debris November 16.

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Typhoon Haiyan – An elderly survivor walks past toppled cars outside a church in Tacloban on November 16.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A man in Tanauan cleans meat after slaughtering his only cow that survived the typhoon.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Survivors gather in Tacloban to await transport to a neighboring province on November 16.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Men carry a coffin toward a Leyte cemetery on November 16.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A survivor cooks dinner in front of his damaged home in Marabut, Philippines, on Friday, November 15.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Toppled coconut trees dot a mountain in an area devastated by the typhoon in Leyte province.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A typhoon survivor keeps her husband alive by manually pumping air into his lungs after his leg was amputated at a Tacloban hospital November 15. The hospital has been operating without power since the typhoon.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A survivor reacts to the damage at a residential area in Tacloban on November 15.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Typhoon victims are treated in the lobby of a Tacloban hospital on November 15.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Philippine Army soldiers carry the body of a civilian in Tanauan on November 15.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Residents wait to board a Singaporean cargo plane at the Tacloban airport on November 15. Many survivors have converged on the city's airport to wait for flights.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Search and retrieval teams carry a body bag in Tacloban on November 15.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Haiyan survivors carry food that a U.S. military helicopter dropped off in Guiuan on Thursday, November 14.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Dozens of bodies are placed near Tacloban City Hall on November 14 as workers prepare a mass grave on the outskirts of the hard-hit city.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A girl plays inside her house amid the devastation in Tacloban on November 14.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A Filipino soldier hands out bread to survivors in Maraboth, Philippines, on November 14.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A boy takes cover from rain while waiting for an evacuation flight from Tacloban's airport November 14.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Workers arrange bodies at a mass burial site at a Tacloban cemetery November 14.

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Typhoon Haiyan – The weary wait for evacuation from Tacloban on November 14.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A truck lies in the water in Hernani, Philippines, on November 14.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Children play with fallen power lines near a damaged school in Guiuan on November 14.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Teresa Mazeda hangs laundry in the ruins of her Tacloban home on Wednesday, November 13.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Nina Duran searches for belongings at her family's destroyed house in Tacloban on November 13.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Survivors walk through the ruins of their neighborhood outside Tacloban on November 13.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A man sits in front of his destroyed business November 13 in Tacloban.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A family, desperate to charge their mobile phones to search for family and friends, tries to use a ceiling fan to generate electricity November 13 in the Philippine province of Cebu.

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Typhoon Haiyan – An injured man in Tacloban rests beneath a picture of Jesus Christ on November 13.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A man takes a shower amid the rubble in Tacloban on November 13.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A rescue team wades into Tacloban floodwater to retrieve a body on November 13.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Residents take shelter in a Tacloban church on November 13.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Residents make their way through a destroyed neighborhood in Tacloban on November 13.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A boy cycles past a coffin left on a street in Tacloban on November 13.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A man looks at his destroyed home November 13 in Tacloban.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Body bags are lined up in Tacloban on November 13.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Survivors prepare to board a military plane November 13 at the Tacloban airport.

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Photos: Typhoon Haiyan – Men walk through smoke as they burn debris from a Tacloban church on November 16.

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Typhoon Haiyan – An aerial view of Tanuan shows signs pleading for help and food November 13.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Soldiers help a woman after she collapsed November 13 while waiting in line to board a military plane at Tacloban's airport.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Survivors wait to be evacuated from Tacloban on November 13.

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Typhoon Haiyan – An injured survivor gets carried on a stretcher before being airlifted from Tacloban's airport November 13.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A survivor begins to rebuild his house in Tacloban on November 13.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Evacuees wait to board a military aircraft in Leyte on Tuesday, November 12.

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Typhoon Haiyan – People walk through damage in Tacloban on November 12.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A young man waits at the airport November 12 in hopes of being evacuated from Tacloban.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A woman comforts a crying relative as a plane leaves the Tacloban airport November 12.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A man sits crying on a packed aircraft in Tacloban on November 12.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Debris lays scattered around a damaged home near the Tacloban airport on November 12.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A girl sits inside a bus as she waits for a ferry in Matnog, Philippines, on November 12.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Police line up bodies for processing in Tacloban on November 12.

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Typhoon Haiyan – People in Tacloban pass debris on November 11.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Survivors in Tacloban board a military plane bound for the Philippine capital of Manila on November 11.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Residents carry bags of rice from a Tacloban warehouse that they stormed November 11 because of a food shortage.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A woman in Tacloban walks amid the debris of destroyed houses on November 11.

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Typhoon Haiyan – People make their way across a flooded street in Shangsi, China, on November 11. Haiyan moved toward Vietnam and south China after devastating the Philippines.

Typhoon Haiyan – A woman carries a baby across a river November 8 at a coastal village in Las Pinas, Philippines.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A resident walks along a fishing village in Bacoor, Philippines, on November 8.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A house in Legazpi, Philippines, is engulfed by storm surge November 8.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A child wraps himself in a blanket inside a makeshift house along a Bacoor fishing village.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A woman and her children head for an evacuation center November 8 amid strong winds in Cebu City, Philippines.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Huge waves from Haiyan hit the shoreline in Legazpi on November 8.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A fisherman lifts a post to reinforce his home at a coastal village in Las Pinas on November 8.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A resident unloads nets off a fishing boat in Bacoor on November 8.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Residents reinforce their homes in Las Pinas on November 8.

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Typhoon Haiyan – The storm approaches the Philippines in this satellite image taken Thursday, November 7, by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Workers bring down a billboard in Makati, Philippines, on November 7 before Haiyan makes landfall.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Philippine Coast Guard personnel stand in formation beside newly acquired rubber boats after a blessing ceremony in Manila on Wednesday, November 6. The boats were to be deployed to the central Philippines in preparation for Haiyan.

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Story highlights

Cecilia Brainard grew up in the Philippines; where people deal with about 20 typhoons a year

She says Signal 1 meant rain and some wind; 2 was no school, 4 was hunker down

Everyone took shelter as usual, she says, but Haiyan was beyond anyone's experience

Filipinos are used to typhoons. I grew up in the Philippines knowing it has two seasons -- the "wet" and the "dry." More than 20 typhoons whip through the Philippines in a year. I could smell the rain when it was coming. I knew that if the moon had a ring around it, there would be rain the next day. I knew that the excited twittering of birds also meant rain was coming.

At a young age, I could gauge just how strong the typhoon was, not only based on the storm signal warnings, but on how thick and dark the clouds were, how heavy the rain fell, how strong the wind blew. It became instinctive to know how dangerous a storm was.

In Cebu City, where I grew up, a siren would blow the warning signals when a typhoon was approaching. Storm Signal No. 1 meant rain and some wind, but we still went to school. No. 2 meant stronger rain and wind. We were excused from school, but it was safe enough to go to the movies or to a friend's house. We would also listen to announcements on the radio. We knew a storm was coming, but the radio news gave us an inkling of its severity.

We took Storm Signals Nos. 3 and 4 seriously and stayed indoors because it meant the rain and wind were very powerful. The streets would flood; branches of trees could break; trees could be uprooted, corrugated metal roofing could come loose and fly about, electric power lines could break. It was dangerous to be outside. We stayed home with canned goods, water, candles and matches, because it was a given that electricity and telephones would be cut off during typhoons.

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

We waited out the storm in the safety of our homes. That's how it is; that is what the Filipinos expect and do when a storm is coming.

Even before the Western media started focusing on super typhoon Haiyan, I'd been following the news on the Internet. Friends in Cebu, Philippines, who had just been battered by the 7.1 magnitude earthquake last October 15, were giving me a blow-by-blow account as they hunkered down and waited for Haiyan. After the super typhoon passed, someone jubilantly e-mailed, "We survived."

Facebook pictures were posted of the damage in Cebu City, which didn't look too bad: Streets littered with debris, trees uprooted, cars flipped over on their sides, some roofing damaged, store signs askew. And so for a few hours at least, a sense of relief washed over me -- until a friend received a text message from the parish priest of Odlot in Northern Cebu:

"Church no more roof and ceiling. 95% of parishioners homeless. We need help. Food and water."

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Deep inside, I had known that a country can't get away unscathed when a super typhoon like Haiyan hits it, and the text from Father Desuyo brought me back to reality.

As communications resumed, the world understood the awful destruction that Haiyan had wrought in Samar, Leyte, Northern Cebu, and other parts of Central Philippines.

It has been painful to see images of villages destroyed, of people wandering around in the midst of all the rubble, of survivors holding up signs begging for food and water. What I find most nerve wracking are the pictures of the dead lying by the roadside or under rubble. Filipinos have much respect and love for their dead, and so these images indicate just how desperate survivors are that they can't take the time to bury their loved ones.

I can't help but wonder what went so wrong. Why were Filipinos caught off guard? Why didn't the government plan better for Haiyan -- or Yolanda, as the super typhoon is called in the Philippines? Why have so many people died? Why are survivors left on their own?

I have no doubt that the survivors and victims of Haiyan had done their part: Like they always have, they had stocked up on basic necessities and hunkered down in the safest place they could think of.

But here's the thing: Even though Filipinos knew that Haiyan was the strongest typhoon in recorded history to make landfall, they did not have the collective memory of something this powerful. No one expected the great destruction of Haiyan. No one expected its 15- to 20-foot tsunami-like surge.

Here's the irony: Many people died in the evacuation centers or gymnasiums or churches where they sought refuge, from drowning and from the buildings collapsing.

Here's a fact: The death toll will rise because the Philippines has 7,100 islands, and in those islands, many coastal villages have not yet been accounted for.

Now, Haiyan will never be forgotten. The super typhoon is part of the Filipinos' collective memory, when before, it was unimaginable.